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Cognos ControllerApplication · Ibm

CVE-2021-20451

HIGH · 7.2 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-05-03
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
78/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
IBM Cognos Controller 10.4.1, 10.4.2, and 11.0.0 is vulnerable to SQL injection. A remote attacker could send specially crafted SQL statements, which could allow the attacker to view, add, modify or delete information in the back-end database. IBM X-Force ID: 196643.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

IBM Cognos Controller versions 10.4.1, 10.4.2, and 11.0.0 contains a SQL injection vulnerability in its web interface or API that allows remote attackers to inject malicious SQL statements via unsanitized user input, potentially allowing unauthorized view, add, modify, or delete operations on the back-end database.

MitigationApply the IBM patch for CVE-2021-20451 when available. As an interim control, implement strict input validation and least-privilege database accounts to limit the impact of any successful SQL injection exploit.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Cognos ControllerApplication
Affected:= 10.4.1= 10.4.2= 11.0.0

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
High
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify IBM Cognos Controller installation
    Locate the Cognos Controller installation directory and check for the version file, typically found in the installation folder or via the Cognos Configuration tool under the Controller component properties.
    Affected if IBM Cognos Controller software is present on the system
  2. Verify installed version number
    Open the Cognos Configuration tool or check the version file to determine the exact installed version of IBM Cognos Controller.
    Affected if The installed version is exactly 10.4.1, 10.4.2, or 11.0.0
  3. Check if web interface or API is enabled
    Review the Cognos Controller configuration to determine if the web interface or REST API component is enabled and accessible.
    Affected if The web interface or API is enabled and exposed to users or network
  4. Identify accessible input fields in web interface
    Log into the Cognos Controller web interface and navigate through the forms and API endpoints to identify user input fields that process queries against the database.
    Affected if User-accessible input fields exist in the web interface that could accept unsanitized SQL queries

You are affected if IBM Cognos Controller versions 10.4.1, 10.4.2, or 11.0.0 is installed with the web interface or API enabled and accessible.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply the IBM patch for CVE-2021-20451 when available. As an interim control, implement strict input validation and least-privilege database accounts to limit the impact of any successful SQL injection exploit.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

IBM Cognos Controller 10.4.3 or later (or 11.0.1 or later)

  1. 1. Review IBM's official support portal for the latest security patches for IBM Cognos Controller
  2. 2. Download and test the fixed version (IBM Cognos Controller 10.4.3 or later, or 11.0.1 or later) in a non-production environment
  3. 3. Ensure database backups are current before applying the upgrade
  4. 4. Apply the upgrade to the production environment following IBM's documented upgrade procedures
  5. 5. Verify the SQL injection vulnerability is no longer present by testing the previously vulnerable code paths
  6. 6. Confirm normal functionality of Cognos Controller after upgrade
Caveat Review IBM release notes for potential compatibility changes between versions; test thoroughly in staging before production deployment

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Cognos Controller Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
28.0 hours of engineering $4,980
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2021-20451 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data